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sleepy-shinx · 1 year

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Identity Theft - a submas fic

I had a crack theory and it turned into a crack fic. Here ya go.

Summary: A story based on the events of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, except something's not quite... right. Seems there was a slight mishap when a certain amnesiac warden fell into Hisui...

Warnings: Some swearing. At the very end. I initially said there was a brief identity crisis then realized the ENTIRE FIC is one long identity crisis so plz forgive me

Pairings: none. especially not bl@nkshipping. blankshippers DNI!

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44985460

His name was Ingo.

When he’d first fallen, he’d woke in a strange land, confused, injured, and with no memories except his name. He’d been only half coherent, brain muddled with exhaustion and pain. They’d asked him his name, and he’d looked down at himself in a panic, taking a moment to center himself before he spoke the only memory he’d retained from his unexpected detour.

His name was Ingo.

He wore a black coat, with red accents and a blue band around the upper left arm. The hat that rested atop his head matched the coat, black with a red band and an odd emblem in the middle. Items of clothing that matched no other in Hisui, that made him stand out from everyone else in the region. Even the other clothes he’d been wearing when he fell had stood out from everyone else’s, an odd, white button-down shirt and black pants, accompanied by a pair of oddly shaped black shoes as well.

When he looked at the items, the name Ingo was always associated with them.

When he looked at himself in the mirror as he was wearing them, he saw Ingo.

And yet.

The name had never felt quite… right.

He had no justification for the feeling, no reason to believe that the only name he’d ever known since falling in Hisui wouldn’t be his own. The one time he brought it up with Lady Irida, it had only confused her beyond belief. Because how could his name not be Ingo?

He hadn’t brought it up with her again.

But the feeling never left him.

It wasn’t enough to derail him beyond function, so he had stopped thinking too much into it long ago.

As far as he or anyone else was concerned, he was Warden Ingo.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

“Take care not to come uncoupled from me!” He called back to his young companion, the one he was guiding through Wayward Cave. The cave was, frustratingly enough, unlit, despite the dangers traversing through an unlit cave wrought for passengers unaccustomed to traveling through the area. He highly suspected Melli was at fault for removing them, but he had no basis for the suspicions, at least not of yet.

The young girl nodded, trailing only slightly behind him as she followed him through the cave.

“So you don’t remember anything from before Hisui?” Akari asked, clearly trying to prevent an awkward silence.

“Very little,” he admitted with a nod. “Though I will admit, leading a young companion through tunnels to safety… seems to ring some bells.”

Talking a lot always seemed to take a lot out of him, though he could never quite understand why. That was supposed to be his thing… right? Yet, it always felt like a chore, drawing out his words to the length he thought they were intended to be.

“Maybe this will help you remember some other things, then?”

He hummed, letting his thoughts wander, though he still kept a watchful eye out for danger. “Perhaps…”

Something, a vague, incomplete wisp of a thought passed through his mind, and he decided he may as well tell her about it, hoping it might lead him further down those tracks. “I recall, faintly, that I had a partner once…” Lightning danced across his mind, accompanied by dancing flames. “A precious one.” He initially felt pulled to the sparks, but no, that couldn’t be quite right. His partner was the one with purple flames, it had to be… “Its name escapes me, but I remember that it wielded flames with mastery. If only it were here, I’m sure it would light the way, luring us onward…”

Their path was impeded by an Alpha Crobat. He quickly rerouted, leading her down the other way towards the exit so they would not be forced to fight such a powerful Alpha in the dark.

“Have you remembered anything else?” Akari asked, looking at him curiously.

Anything else… yes. Another memory briefly flashed by, spurred on by the vague familiarity of traversing dark tunnels alongside another. “I’m starting to recall a man who looked… like me. We’d battle and discuss Pokemon, I think…”

Two scripts began warring in his head as vague battle memories flashed through, too scrambled together to be anything coherent. He was almost completely unable to get anything out of it, but then… “The words ‘I like winning more than anything else’ flashed through my mind just now…”

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

He stared in the mirror, frowning. Warden Ingo stared back at him.

Frowning, he had realized, took almost the same amount of energy out of him as talking so much did. He couldn’t quite understand. He was supposed to frown, it went right alongside his words and the black of his coat and hat.

So why did it feel so exhausting? Feel, so deeply inside, so wrong?

Without thinking too much, he allowed the corners of his lips to move, to curl up into a smile. It felt… right.

A stranger stared back at him.

It looked wrongwrongwrongwrongwrong

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

“Now then… Follow the rules and drive safely! We’re headed for victory! All aboard!”

The script felt right and yet still wrong as it came out. He knows he’s spoken these words before, but drawing them out, carrying them on this much, felt so wrong.

He didn’t quite understand. His brain kept telling him this was right. He was Ingo, was he not? He was supposed to be the one who talked a lot, who frowned, who expressed himself through words less than his face. Who wore black and battled with one Pokemon at a time (why wouldn’t he? One Pokemon at a time… that was how battling worked, was it not??)?

Who was he comparing himself to? Was there someone he knew back then, before Hisui, who didn’t do these things?

He didn’t have time to ponder these things, right now. He had a challenger- Akari was stood in front of him, her first time challenging him at the Training Grounds in Jubilife Village. He sent out his Gliscor, and she sent out her Samurott (who looked… different, somehow, than he expected. He isn’t sure what it was that he expected). She had been training hard, in the time since she’d closed the rift, trying to prove to Jubilife and to herself that she was worthy of the nine stars that adorned her scarf.

When she beat him, he wasn’t able to prevent his lips from curling into a more natural-feeling smile, even for just a few seconds.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

He walked into the cave his Lady called her home.

He enjoyed spending time with Lady Sneasler and her kits, he’d soon come to realize after being appointed Warden. She was a wonderful distraction from the thoughts that plagued his mind, stopping him from constantly wondering who he was.

She didn’t quite have kits at this point, however. The eggs that laid comfortably in her nest were due to hatch any day now. Akari, who he’d surprisingly found himself growing closer to over the last few months, was beyond excited to see them after they hatched. She’d started calling him Uncle of all things, which felt strange yet still incredibly endearing. He hadn’t seen her for a few days, however, as she had told him she was heading out with Volo, one of the Ginkgo Guild merchants, to look into the local legends. She said she should be back in only three days.

Today was the third, and she had not shown up in Jubilife that day while he had been situated at the training grounds. To say he was worried was a slight understatement.

Lady Sneasler mewled contentedly at him as he entered, curled up near her nest as she watched her unmoving eggs. Well, not quite- one wobbled right after he thought that. A good sign! He hadn’t quite understood why helping his lady with her eggs felt so… right, to him. Like he’d done this before. But he never questioned it, just lent his assistance to his noble whenever the time for a new litter came around.

“No major changes?” he asked, approaching her nest. The eggs had been moving slightly for a day or so. Lady Sneasler shook her head, but didn’t seem worried. Things were progressing on schedule.

Suddenly, they both heard the frantic call of a flute from somewhere above the cave. He recognized Akari’s tune for Lady Sneasler almost immediately, and alarm bells went off almost immediately in his head. He’d never heard his niece’s playing sound like this.

Sneasler jumped to action immediately. He desperately wanted to accompany her, to see why Akari sounded so desperate- but he knew his Lady would feel a lot more comfortable if her eggs were not left completely unattended this close to hatching.

“I will make sure nothing happens to them,” he promised her as she nodded, knocking his hat over his eyes before taking off quickly.

His answers came not long after, as it turned out Akari asked Lady Sneasler to bring her straight to him for comfort. Volo had betrayed her, had turned on her as soon as she’d had the 17 plates he didn’t have and likely would have killed her if she hadn’t managed to scrape a win. His blood boiled with anger, but there was nothing to be done now. Volo had disappeared after his loss, and left her with the last plate she’d needed.

He hugged her close as she sobbed into his shoulder.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

Akari was missing.

He had spent the last week or so frantically scouring every corner of Hisui for his niece, alongside what felt like the entirety of the Galaxy Team (and Irida and Adaman).

The last time he’d seen her, she had told him she’d almost completed the Pokedex, had only one more Pokemon left to catch. Arceus. Creator of all. She had been heading to fight it, had stopped to ask him a question.

“Do you… want to go home?”

He hadn’t given her a definitive answer and had spent the rest of the day pondering it (getting no closer to making a decision) before growing worried over the fact that he hadn’t seen her by the time night fell. He’d went back to Jubilife to see if she’d gone home, and Laventon thought she was with him.

She hadn’t been seen since.

He was beyond worried, had barely ate or slept as he helped search for her, only taking breaks to stop and refuel and recharge when his Lady physically forced him to. He could tell she was worried as well, but didn’t let that stop her from making him take care of himself.

It reminded him of someone. He wasn’t sure who, but more flashes of electricity and also soft yellow fabric danced through his mind.

Right now was one such occasion, as she’d forced him into her basket and brought him back to his tent to eat before he collapsed on her.

He was nibbling on an oran berry when he heard it.

The familiar pattering of running feet, but that wasn’t quite all, there were… multiple sets?

All he knew is one belonged to his niece, and he leapt up and threw the door to his tent open as Akari launched himself into his arms.

“Uncle!” she cried happily, throwing her arms around his neck.

“Akari! I was so worried!” he exclaimed, relief exploding through him.

“I’m so sorry I disappeared, Arceus accidentally sent me back home before I was ready, but you’re never gonna believe who I found and brought back to Hisui with me!”

“Who?” he asked curiously, setting her down.

“EMMET!”

…

“Emmet, why are you wearing my pants?”

Emmet looked down, coffee in hand, still waking up. “Ah! It would seem I grabbed the wrong pair.”

Ingo snorted, grabbing a tie and throwing it around his neck. “Well, you’ll want to change quickly, so we still make it in to the station on schedule.”

Emmet stood to change, then had a mischievous idea pop into his head. His smile turned sly as he leaned over and pulled Ingo’s hat off his head, putting it on his own.

“Or maybe I will go as Ingo to work today!”

Ingo looked exasperated as Emmet snickered. “We are not swapping places again today.”

“Aw, but why not?” Emmet made his way over to the coatrack, grabbing Ingo’s coat and throwing it over his shoulders with a dramatic flair.

“We have never been able to pull off a successful swap ever in our lives,” Ingo pointed out, walking over to snatch his hat back. “Mostly because someone can’t be loud enough to save his life.”

“Says you who can’t be quiet enough to throw suspicion!” Emmet countered, pulling Ingo’s shoes on. He threw his arms up in a mirror of his own normal pose, raising his voice as loudly as he could get it to go as he yelled,

“ALL ABOOOOARD!”

It was not nearly as loud as Ingo’s, and he even heard his voice crack. Ingo snorted, and it quickly turned into laughter. “See?! Case in point!”

Emmet pouted, but the mischievous light refused to leave his eyes. “Well, let’s see what the depot agents have to say about your theory!” He threw the door open. Ingo rolled his eyes.

“Well, don’t blame me when you get caught in less than a minute.”

Ingo headed back down the hallway as Emmet cackled and walked out of the door to make his way to work ahead of his brother, who clearly was not going to play along. He could at least have a little fun before his brother inevitably joined him there and brought his harmless ruse to light.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Emmet would never make it to the station.

…

A man, frowning, in a black coat and hat and slacks and shoes, stood in front of him, looking like he was about to completely fall apart.

“Ingo,” Emmet breathed, realization and subsequently, memories crashing over him like a tsunami.

Ingo broke, throwing himself at Emmet, who was more than happy to catch his sobbing brother in his arms. He soon found himself joining him in his cries as memory after memory of his twin brother played through his mind, memories of the subway, of their beloved partners (his first partner was Eelektross, not Chandelure, the lightning that he had recalled suddenly making much more sense), of their friends and family. The two of them collapsed to the ground in each other’s arms.

“You’re alive,” Ingo sobbed, clutching Emmet close. “I was so scared, Emmet, I thought I had lost you, that- that you’d-”

“I’m alive,” he whispered, holding Ingo just as tightly, his quiet voice making sense to him for the first time in years. “I’m here, Ingo, I’m here. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to leave.”

“I know, it’s not your fault, Dawn- er, you still know her as Akari- explained everything she could. I’m just so relieved. I missed you so, so much.”

They didn’t move for several minutes more, until they both had calmed enough to break from their hug, but they didn’t move far. Emmet held his brothers trembling arms as Ingo cupped his face, the two of them touching their foreheads together.

“So, I guess you’re Uncle Emmet now, huh?” Akari piped up. Emmet looked over at her with a smile on his face (it felt so much better, so much more like himself), and nodded.

“Though I guess you do still have an Uncle Ingo, if that’s what you want.”

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

Explaining the situation to everyone in Hisui had been an… odd experience, to say the least. Lady Sneasler at least didn’t seem to care, more interested in the new coat he wore (Ingo had brought his regular white coat for him, which Emmet felt so much more at home in) and the identical man in black who refused to leave his side. She could tell them apart with ease, which didn’t surprise him much. For his team, it was much the same.

Lady Irida and the other Pearl Clan wardens had been confused, to say the least. It had required quite the explanation to fully get across to them that the man they had known as Warden Ingo for the last four years was, in fact, named Emmet, who had remembered his brother’s name before even his own. But eventually the point got across, and it especially helped having Akari there to back them up. The Galaxy Team and Diamond Clan had, at one point, just decided to stop questioning it and just go along with it.

At the very least, it had been easy to prove that Ingo wasn’t a Zoroark.

Being called Warden Emmet was odd. But in a verrrrrry good way. He definitely was struggling a bit with identity, having grown so used to accidentally pretending to be his brother for four years. But Ingo was helping him to remember what being Emmet meant, and he was most certainly happier than he’d ever been before in Hisui.

And as more and more of his memories returned to him, he quickly grew more and more homesick for the life he’d left behind when he disappeared. He had a whole team of Pokemon waiting for him, dozens of Joltik who Ingo had spent so long caring for in his absence. Elesa, Uncle Drayden, and Iris waiting to welcome him home with open arms. An entire subway full of trainers stronger than he could ever have imagined in Hisui.

He missed it so, so much.

So it was to no one’s surprise when he decided, only days after Ingo had appeared in Hisui, that it was time for him to go home. Akari- who also had not been going by her real name in Hisui, he’d discovered, and was actually named Dawn- had already had her happy reunions with everyone she’d left behind, and had only come back to Hisui to help Ingo get there and to reassure everyone there that she was okay, that she had found her own true home again.

Lady Irida had taken his resignation better than he expected, admitting she knew that it was an inevitable possibility. She saw no reason to prevent him from returning to his own space when he so clearly longed for it.

Lady Sneasler had promptly decided not to accept his resignation at all, and decided she was, instead, coming along with him, along with three kits from her most recent litter. She handed her title down to her eldest child.

Emmet vehemently refused to admit he had cried a bit when she had told him. Leaving her was going to be the hardest part of leaving Hisui, and now he didn’t have to!

After that, he’d only had a few scarce goodbyes to say, his Hisuian team also deciding to join him even after he gave them all the opportunity to stay behind with Zisu (the third hardest goodbye out of all of them).

Then, as soon as he was ready, with Ingo and Dawn by his side, Arceus sent them all back home.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

“YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING DUMBASS!”

This was exactly the reaction he had been expecting from Elesa, Emmet realized, as she threw her arms around him, and he snorted as he returned her embrace, holding her tightly and not even trying to stop the tears that formed in his eyes. This was the reunion he was most looking forward to.

“You scared the shit out of us, you asshole,” she sobbed. “Don’t ever do that to us again.”

“I won’t. So long as I have any say in it. I promise I won’t.”

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

His Pokemon had been left in Elesa’s care while Ingo had gone to find him, he found out. Elesa, much more calm than she had been not even thirty minutes ago, handed him one Pokeball in particular with a soft smile. He cradled the ball carefully, eyes shimmering as he let his beloved partner out.

Eelektross spun on him, screeching with joy as it slammed into him, wrapping its body around him in its own version of a desperate hug. Emmet curled around the Pokemon. “I missed you, too,” he whispered.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

“So you ended up in Ancient Sinnoh, with no memories, except Ingo’s name?” Drayden’s eyebrow rose. “Because you were wearing his coat and hat when you disappeared.”

“Yup!” Emmet popped the p. At his side was a very clingy Iris, who he had one arm around. His other hand was in Ingo’s, as it had been for most of the last week or so.

Elesa buried her head in her hands. “I cannot believe this. You two are so identical, you mistook yourself for Ingo. Despite remembering nothing about him or yourself.”

He looked at Ingo with a smirk on his face. “See? I told you I could pass as you if I really wanted to.”

“NO ONE IN HISUI KNEW EITHER OF US BEFORE YOU FELL THERE.”

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